Chuck vs the National Coverage
by astral-monkey
Summary: When Sarah is caught on camera by a local news crew, the story goes national and brings an old colleague to LA. Chuck, Sarah and Casey must determine if she is friend or foe, while the Ring continue to close in on them.
1. Chapter 1: National Coverage

**Chapter 1: National Coverage**

Sarah's fingers slipped a little further closer to the edge of the windowsill. The sweat was starting to take its toll and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on. Nine floors below her a crowd had gathered. Sarah tried to regain her grip, her fingers slipped slightly and she lurched a little further away from the window. The crowd gave a collective gasp.

"CASEY!" Sarah cried, closing her eyes and making another attempt at pulling herself up. There were gunshots coming from inside the building, followed by the sound of a siren echoing up from the street, but it was the next thing Sarah heard that made her cringe. The unmistakeable sound of rotor-blades carving through the air towards her. Sarah held her breath and hoped for a CIA issue black hawk, or even the local PD. She turned her head slightly, trying to keep her face mostly hidden with her arm. The chopper was only a couple of buildings away, and Sarah's heart sank when she saw the WTV News logo emblazoned on the side.

"CASEY!" She bellowed again. This time a door flew open from inside the room.

"WALKER?" Casey called, bursting into the room.

"WINDOW!" Sarah yelled back. Casey raced over to the open window. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her easily and unceremoniously back inside the room.

On the ground the crowd cheered, but Sarah and Casey didn't hear them. They were already out of the room and halfway down the corridor.

Sarah pulled a gun from her belt, and checked the magazine. She slammed it back in and cocked the gun. "Damn it." She muttered.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked. "You dry?"

"No. News chopper. I think they got a shot of me."

"No point worrying about it now. Let's go get Chuck."

They broke into a run and headed into the stairwell.

---

Chuck was still at the laptop when they burst through the door into the third floor office.

"You got it?" Sarah asked.

"Just about." Chuck hit keys furiously.

"Come on, genius, we don't have all day." Casey urged.

"Cause insulting me's really going to speed things up." Chuck replied, pausing for a moment. He pulled a portable hard drive from his bag and plugged it into the laptop. "Give me 30 seconds."

Casey lent against the wall and opened the door slightly. A dark figure ducked round the corner at the end of the corridor. Casey fired two shots. The first caught the figure in the shoulder; the second put him on the ground. Sarah and Chuck both looked up. Casey nodded the all clear to Sarah and closed the door. Chuck unplugged his hard drive and shoved it back into his bag.

"Any ideas how we're getting out of here?" Sarah asked, leading Casey and Chuck out the door.

"The front door's not an option. Local PD and news crews are everywhere." Casey informed them. "Can you find us a back door, Chuck?"

Chuck pulled up his sleeve and hit a few buttons on the computer strapped to his wrist. "Ah… I don't… wait… okay, there's a service entrance off the kitchen in the lobby."

"That'll do." Casey took the lead from Sarah and, keeping his weapon up, led them towards the lobby.

"Good work, Chuck." Sarah smiled as she dropped back to cover the rear.

---

"Here it is!" Ellie yelled, grabbing the remote and turning the sound on the TV up. Chuck and Sarah came out from the kitchen.

"…_and in other news the Trump Plaza in central Los Angeles was evacuated today after a number of gun shots were reported. Our news team picked up the following footage of a woman hanging from a window on the 9__th__ floor…"_

Chuck and Sarah exchanged a worried look.

"See!" Ellie exclaimed, as the shot changed from the newsreader to an image of Sarah almost loosing her grip. "She looks just like Sarah! Don't you think?"

"I guess. I mean, if you sort of turn your head and squint a little, it could be Sarah." Chuck demonstrated as he said this. Ellie slammed the remote into his chest.

"You seriously don't think that looks like Sarah?" She asked.

"Come on, babe," Awesome came out from down the hall, "you're not still going on about this are you? I told you, all blondes look the same. Besides, if it were Sarah, she wouldn't be here right now. She'd be off with the cops filling out reports and what not."

"Exactly." Sarah agreed. "I mean, obviously it's not me. Besides, I was far too busy serving frozen yoghurt to crabby customers all day to be hanging out windows in downtown LA." She looked at Chuck for help.

"It does seem like something you'd do, though." Chuck offered. Sarah hit him playfully and Awesome chuckled.

Ellie didn't seem quite as convinced. "It just freaked me out, that's all. We were watching some of the footage when I was at work earlier and next thing I know, there's my brothers girlfriend about to fall to her death! Then I tried calling you both and just got your voicemail."

"Well, we were…" Chuck started.

"… busy." Sarah finished deftly. She shot Chuck a helpless look.

There was an awkward pause and Ellie stared suspiciously at the two of them.

"Oh, yeah?" Awesome asked, breaking the silence. "Taking advantage of being a man of leisure, eh Chuck?" He chuckled awkwardly, "going for a bit of a midday rendezvous. Nice work bro." He gave Chuck a friendly thump on the shoulder.

Chuck grinned self-consciously. "You know it."

Ellie screwed up her nose. "Eww. Okay, we're done here." She headed off towards the bedroom to get changed.

Awesome waited until she was out of earshot. "Phew, that was a close one!"

"Yeah, um, thanks for your help, Devon." Chuck meant it.

"Anytime bro." He looked at Sarah. "Oh, um, sorry about the little bit of sexual innuendo. It's just that, that's pretty much the only thing that will shut Ellie down."

"It's fine." Sarah assured him. "It worked, and that's the main thing."

"What were you doing downtown today anyway?" Devon asked.

"Oh… um…." Chuck stammered.

"It's sort of, one of those, don't ask, don't tell situations." Sarah explained. "You understand?"

"Yeah. Of course." Devon assured. "Not a problem."

Devon turned a headed down to the bedroom after Ellie.

"So, do you think Beckman will be as easy to convince?" Chuck asked looking skeptically at Sarah.

"Somehow I doubt that." Sarah smiled.

"When do you have to report to her?"

"First thing tomorrow from Castle."

"Do you want to meet up afterwards for some late breakfast? I might be a man of leisure now, but I'm sure I can stretch the budget for some pancakes. What do you say?"

"Chuck, I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Sarah mumbled.

"Give me one good reason."

Sarah looked at him and hesitated, "because I prefer french toast."

Chuck laughed. "I think I can handle that."

---

A harrassed looking woman in her late 20's pulled up outside the Midvale Bank in Salt Lake City. She raced through the front doors just as the security guard tried to close them.

"Sorry, maam, we're closed."

The woman flashed him a pass and kept walking. Without another word the security guard turned back to the doors and locked them. The woman continued into the back of the bank, and marched into one of the rear offices.

"Alright, I'm here. Now what is it?" She demanded, dropping her bag on the table and glaring at the man behind the desk.

"The operation in Los Angeles didn't go as planned." The man explained.

"I gave you the information you wanted. It is not my problem you can't keep your men under control." She shot angrily.

"We were ambushed." The man tried to defend himself.

"By who?"

"NSA, CIA, FBI... we're not really sure."

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Still not seeing how this is my problem."

"You gave us the info, we thought you might be able to identify one of the agents involved in the ambush." The man picked up a remote off the desk. "We're asking for your help."

He hit play.

"_....a woman hanging from a window on the 9__th__ floor…"_

The woman watched the news footage of a blonde hanging out the window of an office building. If the man had been paying close attention, he would have seen a flash of recognition. But he wasn't, so he didn't. The woman's eyes danced back and forth quickly and she took a shallow breath.

"That's the exact shirt the cleaning staff of Trump Plaza wear!" She spat angrily. "That's not who ambushed you, it's just a civilian that got caught in the crossfire!"

The man shifted uncomfortably.

"I would be far more interested in whoever pulled her up, because I'm willing to bet, it sure as hell wasn't one of your guys. Did you get a shot of him?"

The man shook his head.

"Have you tried to enhance the video? Try and pick up a reflection or something? Anything?"

The man looked at her and shook his head again.

"Right, well maybe you should get on to that. And in the meantime, do not call me! Our arrangement is over. I'm done!" She grabbed her bag, turned on her heel and marched out of the office.

The security guard was waiting at the door when she approached. He flicked the lock and held the door open for her. She gave him a quick smile, then headed down the steps to her car. She threw her bag onto the passenger seat and plonked herself down at the steering wheel. Before turning the key she paused.

"Damn it, Sarah." She muttered angrily.

She turned the key and threw the car into a u-turn. Within 20 mins she was on highway 15 heading towards California.


	2. Chapter 2: The London Operation

**A/N: ** Thanks to everyone for your comments!

**Chapter 2: The London Operation**

The Bank Street tube station, in the middle of London's financial district, was jammed with commuters. As a train approached, the crowd jostled Sarah forward towards the edge of the platform. It was 2002 and Sarah had been undercover for almost 8 months. This was her first big mission after completing training. Tonight it was due to end, and she and her partner were set to meet in the third carriage of the 5.15 Central Line westbound from Bank, then transfer to the Piccadilly Line at Holburn, which would take them to Heathrow for their civilian flight back to the US. They were to carry the intelligence with them at all times.

"_Mind the gap."_

The train pulled to a stop in front of her and Sarah stepped aside to allow the passengers off the train. She was shoved sideways and tripped slightly.

"You alright, love?" A thick British accent asked.

She looked up to respond, but was shoved forward onto the train and never managed to locate who had spoken. Grabbing hold of the pole in the middle of the train she held on as the doors closed and the train leapt forward. Sarah quickly scanned the carriage. She had a great view of some guys' armpit, but apart from that couldn't see a damn thing. The train pulled in at St Pauls and the crowd shifted. Sarah looked quickly around and spotted her partner, Agent Emma James, at the other end of the carriage. She gave a small nod to the brunette, whose eyes flashed with recognition, but she held her nod and gave Sarah a meaningful look.

Sarah bit her lip. Something was wrong.

The train pulled in at Chancery Lane and Sarah was shoved against the pole as a crowd of pub-goers piled in. The doors closed again and Sarah was thrown into one of the rowdy men who had just boarded.

"Come on, love. You don't have to throw yourself at me." He bellowed to the delight of his friends.

Sarah screwed up her nose and was grateful when the doors opened at Holburn. She pushed her way through the men and stepped off the train. As soon as her feet hit the platform, someone slammed into her, knocking her to the ground and spilling both their bags onto the ground. Sarah's partner leaned down.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Her British accent was plausible, but Sarah knew it was fake. "Are you alright?" She said helping Sarah to her feet. "Let me help you with that."

They both leaned down and began picking up their possessions.

"Ease up, would you, they're gonna know your not a local." Sarah warned.

Emma's face was grave, and in barely more than a whisper she quickly explained the situation. "I've been compromised. I counted at least 3 guys on my tail. The intell's in your bag. Get on that train and get the hell out of the city, Sarah."

Sarah threw the last couple of items back into her bag. "What about you?" She whispered.

Emma gave her a small smile and stood back up. Sarah stared at her for a moment. Emma turned and began walking away. Sarah got to her feet and trailed several yards behind. They followed the signs to the Piccadilly Line and waited at opposite ends of the platform. The crowd of commuters was still pretty heavy, but Sarah picked out three men that looked more interested in the brunette at the far end of the platform, than the approaching train. The train came to a stop and the doors opened. Sarah stepped on board and turned around. She waited several beats and the train doors closed. Almost as soon as the train began moving there was a scream from the platform and several gunshots. As the train moved down the platform, Sarah was able to see her partner fire three rounds before catching a shot to the chest. She was on the ground in a pool of her own blood when she looked up and caught Sarah's eye. Sarah watched as she took two quick breaths, then the gun slipped from her hand and fell at her side.

---

Chuck walked into Orange Orange and stopped in his tracks.

"Casey? Is that you?" He asked looking shocked. "I'm horrified, terrified… all of the 'fieds in fact. What are you wearing?"

Casey was decked out in long white pants and an orange polo shirt, the ensemble was topped off by the cute apron wrapped round his waist. He grunted in response.

"What's going on?" Chuck asked. "Where's Sarah?"

"Right here." Sarah came out from the back room with a bag slung over her shoulder. "Sorry, Chuck, but I think we're going to have to postpone that breakfast."

"What? Why? You haven't been fired again, have you?" Chuck looked worried.

"Uh… no, nothing like that." Sarah explained. "I've been ordered to lay low for a while."

"Really?" Chuck was surprised.

"Beckman was impressed we made it out alive, and with the intell. She cut us some slack." Casey cut in. "Damn reasonable of her if you ask me, considering your girlfriend was on every news show in the country last night."

Sarah shrugged sheepishly.

"How did that happen, by the way? I would have thought the CIA would have been able to stop that from going to air." Chuck asked.

"Broadcast live. By the time we were out of the building it had already gone national." Casey replied. "Easier to explain, than contain."

"But doesn't that mean you've been compromised?" Chuck asked Sarah.

"Yes, it does. If this were a normal mission I'd be on the first plane back to Langley."

"But?" Chuck urged.

"But, Beckmans up to something." Casey supplied.

"Wha… Beckman? Up to what, exactly?" Chuck looked confused.

"We don't know." Sarah replied.

"But, whatever it is, she wants to keep Walker in play." Casey finished.

"She's probably trying to flush someone out. Hope they saw me on the news and will come looking for me. Which is why I have to stay clear of the Castle and the Intersect. I've been compromised, but you haven't." Sarah seemed a little sad.

"What are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go?" Chuck asked.

"Home. Curl up with a good book and wait for this all to blow over." Sarah smiled. "Raincheck on that breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure." Chuck was disappointed.

"Okay, well I better go." She gave Casey a nod and brushed Chuck's arm as she stepped past him. Chuck turned, and he and Casey both watched as she walked out and disappeared round the corner.

"Ohh, it's okay Chuck," Casey mocked, "you can buy **me** breakfast."

Chuck smiled sadly. "Sure, why not?"

"What?" Casey was taken back. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've got nothing better to do, right."

---

Sarah arrived home to a locked door and a tidy apartment. At first glance it didn't appear anything was out of place. But as soon as she stepped over the threshold, she knew someone had been there. She looked over her possessions. The only thing she could find amiss was a framed picture of she and Chuck. The photograph was at a slight angle in its frame. She picked up the frame and stared at it for a moment. Whoever was here found what they were looking for. Sarah pulled the back off the frame, straightened the picture, and placed it back on its shelf.

---

Emma James had not slept since she left Salt Lake City the previous evening. She'd driven non-stop and arrived in LA just before dawn. She'd managed to locate Sarah's apartment fairly easily. It had been 7 years since they last worked together, but she knew Sarah's tastes – though they had got a little more expensive in the intervening years.

It was just after 10am when she checked into a motel near a shopping complex in Burbank. She had it on good authority (namely an orange singlet she'd found in Sarah's draw) that Sarah worked a cover job nearby.

Emma pulled a suitcase from the trunk of her car. She had already been packed and preparing to leave the country when Sarah had pulled her little stunt on the news. She slammed the trunk shut and wheeled the suitcase into her room. As she went to check she'd locked her car, two men sauntered past deep in conversation.

"What do you mean you don't like IHOP? How can you not like IHOP?" The lankier of the two men demanded.

"I never said I didn't like IHOP, I just said I don't want to eat at IHOP." The other man rolled his eyes, obviously regretting his choice of breakfast companion.

Emma pulled her phone from her pocket and flicked to the picture she had copied from Sarah's apartment that morning. She didn't really need the confirmation; she knew the man in the picture was the same guy that had just strolled past her in broad daylight.

Without another thought she pulled the door of her motel room shut and strode purposely after the two men.


	3. Chapter 3: Breakfast

**A/N: **Not an eventful chapter, but our guys have gotta eat right?

**Chapter 3: Breakfast**

"Look, here's one." Chuck tossed the newspaper down on the table and pointed to the page.

Casey looked up from his bacon and eggs. "Girls wanted for live..."

"Not that one!" Chuck interrupted. "Next to it."

"You know, Bartowski, if you want a job that bad, the CIA can find you a nice cover."

"No thanks, orange isn't really my colour." Chuck shot back. Casey grunted. "Looks great on you, though!" Chuck grinned and shoved a fork full of pancakes into his mouth.

"Watch it, lover boy, or I'll let slip you extra curricular activities to Beckman."

"What extra curricular activities?" Chuck asked, amused.

"Oh, don't pull that one with me, I'm not blind." Casey spat.

"You mean me and Sarah?" Chuck asked, looking shocked. "Nothings going on with us. We work together. That's all. Like you and me."

Casey grunted. "I'm flattered, really I am, but you're not my type."

Chuck laughed. "Seriously though, Sarah and I, we are just colleagues – friends."

"But you want more right?" Casey asked.

Chuck looked at him curiously. "Aww, Casey, I didn't know you cared."

"I don't!" Casey assured him, "but if my teams too busy playing house to watch my back, I'd like to know."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Chuck replied. "The job comes first."

"So there is something going on then?" Casey grinned. Chuck laughed, and raised his hands in mock surrender.

Across the room Morgan Grimes almost dropped his breakfast burrito. "Oh no, this is not good. I can understand Sarah. She's hot, blonde, and performs services this little bearded man just is not prepared to do. But now John Casey? Oh, Chuck, when did I lose you?"

Emma heard the lament and glanced curiously at Morgan, who put his burrito down on his plate. "I don't even think I can eat anymore."

"Sweetie, they're just having breakfast." Anna consoled.

"I know that, but when was the last time Chuck had breakfast with me?"

"Last Thursday. Remember? Left over pizza and twinkies?" Anna replied, disgusted.

Morgan didn't seem to hear her. "He's always too busy with Sarah, and now Casey. The guy doesn't even have a job!"

"Neither do you." Anna pointed out.

"Anna, why do you... now see… that's not really helping my confidence is it?"

"Eat your breakfast." Anna ordered. Morgan shrugged it off and picked up his burrito.

Emma had no idea what Sarah had got herself into, but it sure was fun to watch. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and flicked through to the secure website she'd set up earlier. Live images of Sarah's apartment appeared on the small screen. The main corridor was empty, and Sarah was curled up with a magazine next to the window in her room. Everything was quiet. She closed the browser and dialled a number into the phone.

"I need an address for Bartowski. Burbank." She paused. "Yes... okay... there a number to go with that?... Got it. Thanks." She hung up the phone, dumped a couple of notes on the table and headed past Morgan and Anna, out the door.

Chuck looked up as the door closed and caught a glimpse of a ring through the glass as she shut the door. His eyes rolled back and a series of images flashed through his head. "Whoa!"

"What is it?" Casey asked, dropping his fork and instinctively reaching for his gun. "What did you see?"

Chuck looked at him and breathed for a moment, trying to compose himself. "Nothing... nothing, it's fine."

Casey looked sceptical. "You just flashed right?"

"Yeah, yeah I did. But… uh… if you don't mind, I'd really like to talk to Sarah about it first."

"That's not how this works Bartowski. Sarah's out, I'm in, all flashes come through me." Casey demanded.

Chuck winced. "All the same…"

---

Sarah closed her magazine and glanced around the apartment. "Bored, bored, bored." She mumbled to herself. She threw the magazine onto the table and got out of the chair. Clapping her hands together, she started to wonder why she didn't have a TV. She was beginning to contemplate catching up on some paperwork when there was a knock at the door. She muttered a surprised "oh", and pulled open the door. "Chuck!"

Chuck stood in the open doorway with a brown paper bag in one hand and two coffees in the other. "Delivery for Walker." He declared, holding the bag up for her.

Sarah took it from him and had a quick peek. "French toast! You remembered."

"Of course, what do you take me for?" Chuck asked.

"Chuck, you shouldn't be here." Sarah scolded.

"No, see, you were ordered to stay away from me, but nobody said anything to me about staying away from you." Chuck reasoned.

Sarah stared at him sceptically.

"Are you going to let me in?" Chuck asked with a laugh.

Sarah sighed. Giving in, she stepped aside and let him pass. She checked the corridor for any signs of movement before closing the door and following Chuck over to the table.

"I wasn't kidding, Chuck. It's not safe for you here." Sarah put the french toast onto the table and crossed her arms. "Someone's been in the apartment."

Chuck concentrated on pulling the lid off his coffee and stirred it slowly. "I think I might know who."

"What?" Sarah was shocked into sitting down.

"I had a flash, I think I know what Beckman's after." Chuck explained. Sarah just stared at him, so he continued. "Sarah, who's Agent Emma James?"

Sarah's mouth fell open. "Wow." She sat in silence for a moment. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."

"She's here." Chuck told her. Sarah stared at him blankly. "I saw her this morning, that's when I flashed."

"Does Casey know about this?" Sarah demanded.

"No. I thought I'd come to you first."

"Good. Wait… why? What did you see? How did you know I'd recognise the name?"

Chuck recoiled at her sudden aggressiveness. He paused, watching her closely, "I saw a medical document, you were listed as next of kin."

Sarah breathed and nodded. "Yeah, she didn't have anyone else." She had calmed down, but Chuck could tell she was still in shock.

"Who is she?" Chuck asked again.

"My partner," Sarah explained, "the first one I ever had."


	4. Chapter 4: Old Ghosts

**A/N: **Short chapter, for good reason. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Old Ghosts**

Sarah was curled up in her chair, while Chuck listened attentively to the story.

"I had just graduated high school and was being escorted by Agent Graham to a CIA training facility, when he got a call. I was never privy to the details, but Graham had to make an unplanned stop. He told me to wait in the alleyway while he went inside. I'd been standing there less than 5 minutes when I suddenly got slammed from behind. It wasn't my first fight, but the guy was twice my size and he'd already broken two of my ribs before I even realised what was going on. So, there I was, lying on the ground helpless while the guy laid into me."

"I can't imagine you helpless." Chuck confessed.

Sarah smiled. "Well, I was, and she knew it."

"She?"

"Emma." Sarah confirmed. "She came out of nowhere, and next thing I know the guy that attacked me is gone, I'm in a hospital bed, and Emma's standing over me asking if I'm okay. She carried me 6 blocks to the nearest hospital and stayed to make sure I would be all right. When Graham showed up she gave him an earful about leaving impressionable young girls in alleyways, and he… he offered her a job." Sarah smiled at the memory.

"Wow, so you guys became partners?" Chuck urged her to continue.

"Yeah. Pulled each other up through training. Got in more fights than I think the CIA would ever admit. It took me a while to figure it out, but eventually I realised, the CIA wasn't the life Emma wanted."

"No? Then why would she do it?"

"From that very first day she was my rescuer. I think it gave her some sort of purpose. She didn't care about training, only ever learnt enough to get by, but she was always the first one there if there was ever a sign of trouble. She saved my ass so many times I lost count."

"So, what happened? It was London, right?" Chuck asked.

Sarah nodded. "We'd been undercover before, but not for that length of time. 8 months we posed as temps to try and obtain bank account and investment information on a group of known terrorists. Bit by bit we pieced together everything we could find and saved it all onto a single disk. There were other operatives in cities all over the world doing the exact same thing. We weren't allowed to contact the CIA for fear if one team was compromised it would blow the entire operation." Sarah took a swig from her coffee and paused for a moment. Chuck was quiet and waited for her to continue. "The night we were due to leave London, Emma was followed. She managed to pass the disk to me and waited till I was safely on the train before she let all hell break loose. I saw her get shot." She looked at Chuck, pain in her eyes. "I saw her lying on that platform in her own blood, and I thought she was dead." Sarah paused again, a tear running down her cheek. "It took me 20 minutes before I made it back to the train station. My timing was good though, they had just loaded her into an ambulance, so I followed. Turns out, she'd lost a lot of blood, but she was alive."

"I don't get it." Chuck muttered. "The CIA file says she died in London."

"That's what I told them." Sarah nodded. "When I got back to the US, I told them I'd investigated and hospital staff said she'd been DOA. I also told them her body had been removed from the hospital and the police believed it was most likely at the bottom of the Thames."

"They bought it?"

"I had no reason to lie." Sarah shrugged. "Not as far as they could see anyway."

"What happened to her?" Chuck asked.

"I saved her." Sarah admitted. "It was my turn." She paused before elaborating. "I lucked onto a cop who had a thing for blondes. Spun him a story, practically filled out his paperwork for him, and had him sign her up to the UK's version of the witness protection programme. New name. New life. No more CIA. She was free! I walked out of the hospital and never saw her again." Sarah finished.

Chuck braced himself. "Sarah, the CIA might think she's dead, but the NSA know she's alive. She's killed 7 of their agents in the past 2 years."


	5. Chapter 5: Plausible Deniability

**A/N: **Okay, this chapter is slightly longer to make up for the last chapter being so short. Just to give you a heads up Sarah and Chuck know a little bit more about Emma's motivations than I have let on thus far, so if you're wondering why Chuck doesn't run screaming for the hills in this chapter it's because of what he knows.

**Chapter 5: Plausible Deniability**

Casey was unsettled. First Beckman starts withholding information from him, and now his own team were off whispering behind his back. He didn't like this, not one bit. The Orange Orange had been quiet all morning, so he had put the surveillance camera footage of Chuck's apartment on to the cash register screen. So far the only moment of interest had been when Devon had come home from a run and Mrs Hedecian had almost fallen down the stairs trying to check him out.

The bell went off at the front door and Casey looked up. Emma walked in and sauntered up to the counter. Casey had the feeling he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Good afternoon, maam. How can I help you?" He asked politely.

"Yeah, I was just wondering, isn't there a blonde that usually works here?" Emma asked, eyeing Casey.

"You mean Sarah? It's her day off." Casey explained.

"Oh, okay. And you would be… John Casey, right?" Emma asked.

Casey faked a nervous smile, "you'll have to excuse me, I'm new, I didn't realise we were supposed to be on first name basis with our customers."

Emma gave him a friendly smile, "that's quite alright John. How about you get me the ChocBerry-tastic?"

"Coming right up!" Casey declared, he turned his back to grab a yoghurt cup and heard the bell chime. Looking back he saw the customer was gone, but his screen had been turned around and showed Chuck unlocking the mailbox outside his apartment. Casey dropped the cup, leapt the bench and ran out the door.

---

Chuck stepped inside the apartment and dropped his keys on the side table. "Ellie! Awesome! Anyone home?" He called as he flicked through the mail.

"Just me." Awesome stuck his head out of the bathroom. "I'm about to head to the hospital though, so you'll have the place to yourself."

"Great." Chuck murmured.

"How'd the breakfast with Sarah go this morning?" Awesome asked, emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Uh… not like I hoped. She's got a lot going on at the moment." Chuck replied.

"That sucks, bro. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah… not so much."

"I better get going anyway or I'll be late. No one likes a tardy heart surgeon, right?" He punched Chuck in the shoulder and went to get dressed.

Chuck smiled to himself and tossed the last of the mail on the table. There was a loud thud from down the hall. Chuck's expression changed suddenly. "Devon, was that you?"

---

Emma raced into the courtyard and drew her gun. She heard footsteps behind her and spun round to face Casey, his weapon drawn and pointed straight at her.

"You forgot your ChocBerry-tastic!" He quipped.

"Just so you know, I don't get on so well with NSA agents." Emma informed him.

"Gee, I wonder why." Casey shot back.

They stared each other down for a moment, neither willing to lower their weapon. Then a loud thud echoed from inside. Both sets of eyes flicked to the apartment and back to each other. They hesitated for a moment, then with what looked distinctly like regret they both turned and ran straight for the apartment. Emma threw herself through the front door, while Casey slipped through the window. Chuck was halfway down the hall, when he was shoved out of the way by Emma.

Bursting from the bedroom Casey grabbed him. "What happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Chuck insisted.

"He's unconscious!" Emma called from the bedroom. Chuck followed Casey down the hall.

"… And naked." Casey pointed out, on entering the room.

"That's not entirely true. Technically he's wearing a towel." Chuck countered. Casey shrugged. Chuck knelt next to Devon and tried unsuccessfully to rouse him.

Emma approached Chuck. "Did you see what happened?"

"No, the door was closed." Chuck replied.

"Did you see who it was?" Emma demanded.

"I just said the door was closed!" Chuck reiterated, standing back up.

"Hold on a minute! Calm down. We don't even know if there was actually someone here; he could have just tripped on his towel and fallen." Casey stepped in between them.

Emma looked around the room. "No, there was definitely someone here. I saw them on the surveillance monitor back at the yoghurt shop."

"Who are you?" Casey asked, trying to decide whether he'd been premature in lowering his weapon.

"That's not important." Emma replied.

"Former CIA agent Emma James, reported to have died in London in 2002." Chuck supplied.

Emma narrowed her eyes and appraised Chuck carefully. "That so?" She asked. Chuck nodded. "Yeah, well, I guess those reports were largely exaggerated."

"More like, entirely fabricated." Chuck replied.

Emma blinked. "Maybe I should be asking, who the hell you are?" Her arm flew up and she pointed her gun directly at his nose. Almost as quick, Casey had his gun to her temple.

Cross-eyed, Chuck took a quick breath. "Chuck Bartowski."

"Shut up, Chuck." Casey demanded.

"I already know who you are Chuck. I'm more interested in what you do?" Emma asked.

"This, mostly." Chuck replied. Emma raised an eyebrow. "Technically, I'm between jobs." Chuck confessed.

"Bartowski, I said SHUT UP!" Casey bellowed.

Emma smiled. "You know, I can't figure out who he wants to shoot more. You or me." She whispered to Chuck.

Chuck shrugged. "Both."

Emma lowered her weapon from Chuck's nose and slowly held her hands up in surrender. Casey tried to take the gun from her hand, but she pulled back. "Nah-uh. I keep that, but I will play nice." She shot him a grin.

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?" Casey queried.

"Guess you'll have to." Emma confirmed.

On the floor Awesome stirred. "What the hell happened?"

"Oh my god, Devon! Are you okay?" Chuck ignored the other two and knelt down next to his brother-in-law.

"Oh, man! My head is pounding!" Devon muttered, as Chuck helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, that'd be the big bump you've got right there." Casey illustrated by jabbing his finger into the top of Devon's skull.

"AHHH! What the hell, John?" Devon bellowed. Casey chuckled to himself.

"Was that necessary?" Emma demanded. Casey shrugged.

Down the hall the front door slammed. "Hello? What's going on?" Ellie's voice called.

Emma followed Casey's lead and they both stashed their weapons.

"It's okay, Ellie. Devon just had a fall." Chuck called down to her.

Ellie hurried down the hall and put her bag on the bed. "Oh my god, Devon. Are you alright?" She held Devon's face between her hands and examined him carefully.

"Yeah, honey, I'll be fine. It's just a bump." Devon assured her.

"What the hell happened?" Ellie asked.

Devon looked at Chuck quickly. "Ah… I guess I just tripped and fell. You were right, I shouldn't have left my shoes in the middle of the floor."

Ellie sighed. "Well, as long as you're okay. Do you want me to get you some aspirin?" Devon nodded. Ellie turned around and noticed Emma for the first time. "Hi. Who are you?"

Emma started. "I… uh… I'm Emma, a friend of Sarah's." The statement came out more like a question and she quickly looked at Chuck and Casey for confirmation she'd said the right thing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude." Ellie apologised, holding out her hand. "I'm Ellie, Chuck's sister."

Emma shook her hand. "Right, Ellie, of course. Sarah's told me all about you. The doctor, right?"

Ellie smiled. "Yeah, that's me. Funny, I don't think I've ever heard Sarah mention your name before."

"Yes, she has!" Chuck jumped in. "She's always talking about Emma, and the crazy fun times they had together in London!"

Ellie and Emma both gave him an amused look and started heading back down the hall together.

"That's actually probably why she doesn't mention me much." Emma smiled. "I've been living in the UK for the past few years. I don't get state side very often so we haven't caught up in a while"

"Oh, well, I'm sure Sarah was pleased to see you." Ellie replied.

"I'm sure she will be. I haven't actually got that far yet. I figured she'd be at work so I went there first and instead I found Chuck & John. I was giving them a ride home when we came in to find Devon on the floor."

"Oh, what a shame." Ellie filled a glass of water, and grabbed a bottle of aspirin. "Tell you what, why don't we all have dinner here tonight?"

"What?" Casey and Chuck chorused. Emma raised her eyebrows.

"It'll be perfect." Ellie assured them. "I can cook dinner when I get home and you can help me grill Chuck and Sarah about when they're moving in together!"

Emma laughed. "Sounds great, but I don't want you to go to any trouble."

"It's no trouble." Ellie replied.

"You know what, I'm not doing anything this afternoon, why don't I cook dinner? Chuck will be here to help. Right, Chuck?" Emma grinned.

"Yeah… sure." Chuck smiled nervously.

Ellie beamed. "Okay, sounds like a plan! I better get these to Devon. Excuse me."

Once she was out of earshot, Casey closed in. "Who the hell are you? And what are you up to?" He demanded.

"Like I just said, I'm an old friend of Sarah's, just came for a visit."

Casey was sick of playing nice. He grabbed her round the throat and slammed her against the bench. "Enough games!"

"Alright, fine." Emma choked out. Casey released her. "It's a long story, and it's safer for you if I don't go into all the details, but I'm here to help Sarah. I had business in the states, but it's done now, I would have been on the first plane back to London if not for Sarah's 15 minutes of fame." She paused. "If the people I was working with track her down, they will kill her, and you too if you get in their way."

"And I'm just supposed to believe all this?" Casey asked.

"Guess you're gonna have to." Emma replied. "Now, somebody has to stay here just in case whoever broke in comes back. So, do you want to cook dinner or should I?"

Casey scowled and stared angrily at Emma for a moment. "You think you'll be alright here, Chuck?" He asked not taking his eyes off the other agent.

Chuck turned to Emma. "The only person I trust in all this is Sarah... but she said I can trust you."

Emma nodded. "If you work with Sarah, you can trust me."

"Good." Casey took a step back. "In that case, I'll brief Beckman on the change of circumstances." Emma flinched. "What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"I'd prefer if you waited before telling any of your superiors." Emma requested.

"Now, why would I do that?" Casey asked, curiously.

"It's safer for you if I don't go into the details." Emma repeated. Casey narrowed his eyes.

"Plausible deniability." Chuck offered.

Casey did not like the sound of that.


	6. Chapter 6: The BreakIn

**A/N: **Apologies for the delay. That's the problem with being overworked and underpaid, not enough time in the day to fit everything in. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all your comments thus far – I really appreciate the encouragement.

**Chapter 6: The Break-In**

Chuck had spent the afternoon feeling like he was walking on eggshells. Emma seemed to sense he knew more than he was letting on, but so far all she'd done was eye him suspiciously. They had worked together to search the apartment for clues, review the surveillance footage, and put together a delicious smelling meal. Admittedly Emma had done most of the cooking, but Chuck took credit for cleaning up the bombsite the kitchen had become as a result. He was just finishing up setting the table when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Chuck called to Emma, who was looking a little worse for wear. She was banging about in the kitchen, sweating slightly and looking distinctly unlike the composed secret agent Chuck had met earlier that afternoon.

Chuck pulled open the door to find Sarah on the other side. "So much for lying low, huh?" He commented.

"Yeah, well." Was all Sarah could say. She handed him the bottle of wine she'd brought and he stepped aside to let her in.

There was an exasperated groan from the kitchen. "Chuck, where are the beans?" Emma cried. "They were right here a minute ago, and now I can't find them anywhere. How do beans just disappear?" She spun around and saw Sarah standing there. "Oh."

"I put the beans on the table." Chuck told her.

"Chuck, can you give us a minute?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'm just gonna get changed for dinner." Chuck put a supportive hand on Sarah's shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

Sarah walked over to the breakfast bar and put her bag down. Emma looked back at her and placed the pot mitts on the bench. Sarah tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat and she couldn't. For a moment they both stared at each other saying nothing.

Emma was the one to break the silence. "Thank you."

Sarah was shocked. "For what?"

"For what you did for me. You were gone when I woke up, I never got the chance to say it, but... thank you."

Tears had started rolling down Sarah's cheeks. She cleared her throat and wiped her face with her hand. "We have to talk about Casey. He's NSA. We haven't told him about the agents you killed, but it's a matter of time before he finds out."

Emma breathed. "I understand."

"I should arrest you right now. I'm risking my career by not."

Emma held out her wrists. "Go ahead. If that's what you want I won't stop you." Sarah didn't move. Emma put her hands back at her sides. "Good, because it'd be really hard to save your ass if I'm arrested." Sarah looked down at her hands. Emma watched her for a moment. "Would it make you feel better if I promised to turn myself in once I know your safe?"

Sarah looked at her sceptically. "You'd willingly hand yourself over to the NSA?"

Emma bit her lip. "Well, no, but I can always say it... if it helps."

Sarah couldn't help smiling. She shook her head quickly and frowned. "Okay. Tell me what you know."

"It's simple really. I was working with some dangerous people, you ruined their operation and they're gonna want your head for it."

"Who were you working with?" Sarah asked.

"I only know them as the Ring." Emma replied.

Sarah flinched, her hand instinctively reached for her weapon, but she managed to stop herself before drawing it. "You want to tell me, what possible reason you could have for working with the Ring?"

Emma started to answer, but was interrupted by a key in the door. "I'll explain later."

The door opened and Ellie and Devon walked in. "Sorry we're late." Ellie greeted them.

"Actually your timings great. Tables all set and ready to go." Emma beamed.

"Fantastic! I'm starving." Devon declared pulling up a chair.

"Hold on, shouldn't we wait for John." Ellie asked.

"Knock knock." Casey stepped through the open door, a broad, fake, smile plastered on his face. "Wow, smells good. Hope I'm not late."

"Right on time." Sarah smiled.

---

Laughter filled the apartment. Emma was in the midst of a story.

"Less than five minutes later the guy came back for more. So I'm sitting there absolutely stunned that this bloke, just - can - not - take - a – hint! And Sarah is just completely calm. She asks the guy his name. He tells her its Daniel. So she's like," Emma softened her voice to sound more like Sarah, "Danny... can I call you Danny? Have you ever slept with a woman who was born a man?"

The table erupted.

"This Daniel guy has no idea what to say, so just sort of shakes his head. And Sarah drops her voice and goes..." Emma had to pause to stiffle her laughter. "She goes," Emma dropped her voice, "would you like to?"

Sarah fought back her laughter. "That's not fair. All these stories have been about me."

"Hold on." Devon was only barely managing to control his laughter. "How did the guy respond?"

"Oh, that's the best bit!" Emma choked.

"No, no, please don't tell the rest of this story." Sarah begged.

"No, no, I have to. This is great." Emma dismissed Sarah's objections. "The guy stood there shocked for a minute, asked if we were having him on, and when we assured him that we weren't he sort of thinks it over. We were both like, 'what the hell is this guy doing?' Finally he says..." She was interrupted by her phone ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. Her expression turned serious. "Sorry, I have to get this, it's the bank." She pushed her chair back and disappeared down the hall.

The others looked to Sarah to finish the story. "Oh, he... uh..." Sarah laughed, "he asked if I would meet him at his hotel." The others burst out laughing again.

Down the hall, Emma answered her phone. "Hello?"

The man on the other end of the phone was angry. "You lied to us Agent James."

"What makes you think that?" Emma replied, un-phased.

"The blonde on the news is CIA." The man replied.

Emma feigned confusion. "Is she? My mistake."

"Don't play dumb, James. It doesn't suit you."

"Gee, thanks, and here I thought you didn't care." Emma quipped.

"Laugh all you want. Our operative is already at the CIA agents residence, it's only a matter of time before we have the agent, and the intell. Game over, James, you lose." He hung up.

Emma swore.

"Everything okay?" Casey's voice startled her.

She ignored him for a moment and hit some buttons on her phone. The surveillance images of Sarah's apartment appeared on the screen. A dark figure was pulling the draws from the dressing table and tossing them across the room.

Emma swore again. She looked up at Casey. "There's a Ring operative in Sarah's apartment."


	7. Chapter 7: Saving Sarah Walker

**A/N: **Second to last chapter, this is where all the action happens! I hope you guys enjoy it.

**Chapter 7: Saving Sarah Walker**

"Oh my god!" Sarah uttered, hanging up her phone.

"What's wrong… sweetie?" Chuck asked, adding the pet name as an after thought.

"That was my landlord. He said my apartments been broken into." Sarah explained. "I'm really sorry you guys, but I have to go."

"Sarah, that's terrible. I'll come with you." Emma sympathised grabbing both their bags and already heading for the door.

"Yeah, me too." Casey added.

Chuck leapt out of his chair and turned to Ellie and Devon. "Do you guys think you could…" he indicated the table full of dishes.

"Oh, hey, no problem." Devon assured him.

"Yeah, you guys go, we'll take care of this. You just make sure Sarah's okay." Ellie added.

The others were already halfway across the courtyard before Chuck caught up with them. "What's going on?"

"Sarah's apartment has been broken into." Casey explained.

"You mean that wasn't a cover? What are we gonna do?"

"Split up." Emma replied.

"Wait a minute." Casey stopped them. "Who died and made you boss?"

Sarah pushed past Casey and threw open the door of her car. "Emma's right. Casey you take Chuck and head to Castle. Secure the intell and inform Beckman of what's going on. We need to keep Chuck underground… just in case." Emma shot her a confused look, but Sarah did not elaborate. "Emma and I will go to my apartment, see what we can find out."

"No. Uh-uh. Chuck, go with Walker. I want you both locked down until this is over. James and I will go to Walker's apartment." Casey argued.

"Casey, no!" Sarah insisted. "This is my mess, I'll clean it up."

Emma stepped in beside Casey. "I gotta agree with Casey on this one."

"What?" Sarah spat.

"We don't have time to argue." Emma ordered. "It's my job to protect you and it's your job to protect Chuck. Do your job, Sarah, and let me do mine."

With that said, Emma turned on her heel and strode over to the Crown Vic. Casey leapt in beside her, gunned the engine, peeled away from the curb, and sped off down the road. Sarah slammed her palm down on the roof of her Porshe. "Come on, Chuck, lets go!"

---

The door of Sarah's apartment was ajar when Casey and Emma arrived. They drew their weapons and burst into the room.

Inside, four armed gunmen stood with their weapons pointing at the new arrivals. A fifth gunman, the man from the bank, came in behind them and stuck the barrel of his gun at the base of Emma's skull.

"Hello, Agent James."

Emma and Casey slowly raised their hands into the air.

"Like I said on the phone – you lose."

---

Emma's hands were tied to a pipe above her head. She was unconscious, her breathing was shallow and a steady stream of blood flowed from a gash on her head.

"James?" Casey whispered. He was handcuffed to a chair on the other side of the otherwise empty pump room. "James. Wake up!"

Emma stirred, lifting her head slightly. She wet her lips and sucked in a deep breath. Chocking slightly, she coughed and cleared her throat.

"You alright?" Casey asked.

Emma flicked some hair off her face. "Yeah, just dandy. What happened?"

"You got the crap kicked out of you." Casey explained.

"Gee, I hadn't noticed. I meant the Ring operatives. Where'd they go?"

Casey appraised her, looking ever so slightly impressed. "They couldn't get anything out of you. When you passed out they decided to take a break."

"Can you get loose?" Emma asked, nodding to his restraints.

"I tried. Damn handcuffs are so tight they're cutting off circulation."

"Right." Emma looked up at the ropes tying her to the pipe. She swung her legs up and hooked them over the pipe, taking the tension off the ropes. Pulling herself up she tried to manoeuvre her hands to work at the knots. "Damn." She dropped her upper body for a moment and thought for a second. Pulling herself up again, she began gnawing at the rope.

Casey watched fascinated as she worked. "Can I ask you something?"

She didn't respond.

"You wanna tell me when you started working for the Ring?" Emma paused, the frayed rope between her teeth. Casey continued, his voice filled with disdain. "Why did you betray your country? And why did you murder seven NSA agents?"

Emma spat some of the loose threads from her mouth. "What difference does it make?"

"It makes every difference. Why are you here now? Why are you risking everything for Walker?"

Emma bit angrily at the rope, taking one last chunk from it and freeing her hands. She dropped herself to the ground and walked over to Casey. Kneeling down beside his chair, she unhooked a safety pin from the bottom of her jeans and began working on his handcuffs.

"Firstly, I don't work for the Ring."

Casey grunted sceptically.

"If you must know I have no affiliation." Emma continued. "The CIA think I'm dead, the NSA want me dead, and the Ring couldn't care less either way."

"Gee, that's a sad story."

"You know what? I don't care what you think." The handcuffs snapped open and Emma stepped away from him. "Let's just focus on getting out of here."

"Fine." Casey stood up and rubbed his wrists. "After you?"

Emma reached for the door handle. She paused, her hand hovering over the handle. "How long were they gone before I woke up?"

"I don't know, five minutes maybe."

Emma pulled her hand back. "They left you alone – conscious?"

"Yeah, why?"

"They're listening."

"What?"

Emma scanned the room. Her eye caught a glint in the top corner of the ceiling. "Watching, too."

"Damn." Casey was annoyed at himself for not realising.

"Damn is right." Emma replied, angrily. "Now, you've given them a name."

Before Casey could respond the door swung open. Two men stepped into the room, each pointing an AK-47 at Emma and Casey. The man from the bank followed them in, a manila folder held open in his hands.

"Agent Sarah Walker – CIA. Born 12 March 1981. Died... today." He closed the folder and smiled, satisfied, at Emma. "Thank you for your help Agent James. I always knew you'd be of use."

Emma's face was twisted in anger. "I should have killed you a long time ago."

The man smirked. "Your mistake."

Casey moved half a step closer to Emma. "It's never too late."

Before either of the operatives could react, Emma took the knife from Casey and launched it into the man's throat. Casey grabbed the weapon of the nearest operative, slammed it backwards into his chest, then yanked it forward, pulling it from the operatives grasp and pointing it at it's owner. Emma threw herself at the other operative, pinning him to the wall and wrestling the gun from him.

Instantly an alarm screamed through the facility. The sound of pounding footsteps echoed in every direction.

"Time to go!" Casey yelled.

"Not yet." Emma yelled back. The man from the bank had collapsed onto the floor, the knife stuck tight in his neck. "You've been lying to me from the start, haven't you? Lebowitz isn't NSA. He works for you. You've been protecting him all along."

The man chocked slightly and did not respond.

"I will find him, and when I do, I'm going to make him pay for what he did to my family."

Casey grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go!"

Emma reached down and picked up Sarah's file. She paused for a moment looking at the knife in the man's neck. "Maybe, that'll teach you to search a guy properly when you bring him in." She shook her head and pulled the knife out. "That's sloppy spy work." The man's head fell to the side, his eyes open and vacant. "Don't let it happen again."

---

Sarah had been pacing for almost an hour. Watching her walk back and forth was beginning to give Chuck a headache.

"Sarah, please, I beg you – sit down!"

Sarah looked at him and reluctantly threw herself into a chair. "Why haven't we heard anything yet? It's been hours. Casey knows to call and update us."

"He will. We just need to sit tight and wait it out."

"I can't just sit here, Chuck! I feel so useless!"

"Welcome to my world." Chuck smiled, sympathetically.

Sarah's phone started vibrating on the table. They both leapt to their feet and Sarah scooped it up. "Walker." Chuck watched her anxiously. She rushed to the computer and started a geographical search. "I'm tracking your location now. What happened? What took so long?" She frowned at the answer. "Casey, I've got your location. You're at the Silver Lake Reservoir. What are you planning?" Chuck watched her reaction carefully, but she didn't give anything away. "Got it. We're on our way."

She hung up and hurried to the lockers.

"Sarah, what's happening? What are we doing?" Chuck asked, following her.

Sarah threw a duffle bag at him and grabbed one for herself. "We're going to blow up the building."

"W-we're what?"

Sarah threw open a metal chest and began loading C-4 into the duffle bags. "Not a big explosion, just enough to disable the facility as a base of operation. Now, help me."

"What about Casey and Emma?" Chuck asked, handing her the second bag.

"They've got until we set the explosives to get out."

"And if they don't?"

Sarah caught his eye. "They will."

She grabbed a couple of guns from the rack and filled her pockets with ammo.

"What about me?" Chuck asked. "Do I need a gun?"

"Ah." Sarah looked at him for a moment, and then pulled her own pistol from her belt. "Take mine. It's an automatic. Just point and shoot. You got that?"

"Sarah, I'm not an idiot." He took the gun from her and eyed it cautiously.

"You'll be fine, Chuck. Just – try not to use it."

---

Casey and Emma were lucky. They had managed to take out one operative at a time as they made their way through the corridors. So far their count was at nine, and they were beginning to make a game of it.

"That last one was mine." Casey announced.

"You might have finished him off, but I loosened him up for you."

"We're counting assists now? - Look out!"

An operative flew out from one of the rooms ahead of them. Casey slammed his fist into the side of the operatives' head, and lifted his knee into his ribs, knocking the wind out of him.

"Heads up!" Emma sent a well-placed kick to the guys chin, slamming his head against the wall and knocking him out. "That's another one for me… but you get the assist."

Casey grunted.

---

Outside, Sarah and Chuck were almost done placing the explosives. Sarah pulled out her phone.

"Casey. How far away are you?"

-

"30 seconds."

Emma and Casey broke into a run as they hit the last corridor before the staircase.

-

"That's all you've got. I'm setting the timer now."

Sarah hit a few buttons on the timing device and **0030** appeared on the screen.

"Okay, Chuck, lets get back behind that wall."

-

Casey threw open the stairwell door and jumped back as a shot rang past his ear. He reached past the door and sent a few rounds in response. They were greeted by the satisfying thud as a body fell over the guardrail and hit the ground. Casey smirked at Emma and they burst through the door and into the stairwell.

They had just hit the staircase when another shot rang out. Emma stumbled and fell backwards. Casey caught sight of the shooter and fired back at him. His first two shots missed, but the third hit home and the shooter fell to the ground. Casey turned back and grabbed Emma who was slumped against the railing.

"Come on, get up." He hauled her to her feet, and began pulling her up the stairs.

"Okay... I'm okay." Emma recovered a little and found her feet.

-

"Come on Casey, 10 more seconds." Sarah muttered, watching the entrance.

"Sarah..." Chuck started.

"I know, Chuck."

-

Casey burst through the main door and out into daylight. Emma was close behind him and together they ran for cover. Casey leapt the wall just as the C-4 went off. Emma was a few steps behind him and the force of the blast slammed her into the side of the bricks. She put her arm over her head and tried to protect herself from the debris.

---


	8. Chapter 8: It's Hard To Say Goodbye

**A/N: **Last chapter!!! I hope you guys have all enjoyed the story, and please take the time to review so I know what you thought. Good or bad. I can take it! As always, thanks for reading.

**Chapter 8: It's Hard To Say Goodbye**

---

Chuck knocked on the door of Casey's spare room. "Emma, can I come in?"

He heard an exasperated groan, followed by "yeah, you may as well."

Sarah had managed to extract the bullet from her shoulder and patch up most of the cuts and gashes. Emma was still looking haggard, but at least she'd had the opportunity to shower and change before the NSA took her away.

Chuck opened the door and found her sitting on the bed. Her shirt was unbuttoned and she only had one arm in its sleeve. "Are you okay?" Chuck asked.

Emma laughed. "If getting tortured and shot doesn't take the wind out of you, getting blown up sure does."

Chuck walked over. "Here, let me help." He carefully took her arm and fed it through the sleeve of her shirt. She winced and held her breath. "There."

Emma breathed again, and then caught him looking at a scar across her collarbone. "I'm like a library, you know." Chuck gave her a questioning look. "A lot of scars." Emma explained. "They all tell a different story. Like this one," she indicated a slash mark on the heel of her hand, "Sarah gave me this."

"Really?" Chuck looked carefully at the scar.

"Yeah. Girl doesn't like it when you mess with her knives." Emma smiled, as if recalling a fond memory. Her smile faded. "And this one," she stood up and lifted the back of her shirt. At the small of her back was a deep crater with scarred edges. "I got this the night my family died." She turned her head to watch him take a nervous step back. "You seem to know an awful lot about me, Chuck. Do you know what happened that night?"

Chuck nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know why?" Emma asked.

Chuck shook his head.

"A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Emma explained, sitting down on the bed. "I was running some errands after work one night, picking up groceries, that sort of thing, when I saw two men come running out of a building. It wouldn't have meant a damn thing to me, and I would have happily walked away and pretended I hadn't seen anything, but as they drove away they hit an elderly woman. I couldn't just leave her there, so I went to help. When the police arrived I gave them a statement and hoped like hell nothing would ever come of it." Chuck sat down next her.

"About a week later, someone knocked on our front door. I was upstairs and my husband answered it. Do you know what a gun sounds like, when it's being fired with a silencer on?" Chuck shook his head. "Well, that was the next thing I heard. I honestly thought my brain was playing a trick on me, so I didn't go for my gun. From the top of the stairs I could see them standing over him. They hadn't realised I was there; just like they hadn't realised my son was in the living room." Her eyes began to well up with tears. "He must have seen them or something because I heard him scream. The noise startled them, and one of the men fired his gun without even looking. The screaming stopped. Just like that."

Chuck was quiet.

"I don't know what happened next. I honestly can't remember. I woke up in hospital three days later. No husband, no son, just a name. Those men were NSA. They didn't know who I was, only that I'd seen them. They were cleaning the operation."

"But you got a name?" Chuck queried.

"The police said I killed those men with my bare hands. But before I did, I got the name of the person who sent them – Lebowitz."

Chuck's eyes rolled back in his head, a series of images flashed through his brain. He breathed. "Lebowitz isn't a person. It's a code name – for an internal strike within the NSA."

"What?" Emma stood up and looked at him in disbelief. "How do you know that?"

Chuck thought for a moment. "I saw a file. The NSA had no idea until a few months ago."

"So your saying the men I killed, weren't working for the NSA?" Emma asked.

"No, they were working for the Ring from inside the NSA." Chuck explained. "The NSA had no idea, they sent agents after you thinking you'd killed two of their own."

Emma paused, and stared at Chuck. "It all makes sense. They played me from the start." She picked up her shoes and started shoving them onto her feet. "Okay, Chuck, this is good. Go tell Sarah and Casey."

"Okay." Chuck ran to the door, then turned around. "But, wait – Casey's got an evac team waiting for you at the airfield. The NSA are going to take you into custody."

Emma shrugged. "I knew I couldn't run forever. Maybe I can negotiate something with the NSA, I have plenty of information about the Ring that they can use."

Chuck smiled. "That could work."

"Sure it could, and it will. Now go tell Sarah and Casey."

Chuck flew down the stairs to the living room, where Sarah and Casey had just finished briefing Beckman. "The person Emma's been after this whole time isn't a person!" He announced. "Lebowitz. It's an internal strike…"

"Chuck, where's Emma?" Sarah asked, interrupting him.

"She's on her way down." Chuck replied.

"Wait – did you say Lebowitz?" Casey asked.

"Yeah. It's a Ring operation from inside the NSA. Sort of like how Fulcrum were working from inside the CIA." Chuck explained.

"I know what Lebowitz is, you idiot. Beckman just briefed us on all the details."

"Chuck, did you tell Emma any of this?" Sarah ignored Casey.

"Well, yeah, she was right there. I told her everything."

Sarah pulled out her gun and ran up the stairs. Casey and Chuck exchanged a confused look before racing after her. They caught up with her in the empty spare bedroom. The window sat open.

"That wasn't open before." Chuck informed them.

Casey grunted and gave him a look.

Sarah's phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out. "It's her!"

"Keep her on the line as long as possible, I'm going to trace the call." Casey ordered, running out of the room.

"Emma?" Sarah spoke into the phone. "Where are you?"

-

Emma was limping a little as she climbed into Sarah's Porshe. They had only just missed her.

"Gone."

-

"Why? We can help you?" Sarah assured her.

-

"I know you can. But I can't help you if I'm locked away in a cell. I still have work to do, Sarah."

-

"What are you going to do?" Sarah asked. "Where are you going to go?"

-

"You let me worry about that. I just – I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "I also, I wanted to tell you something… Sarah, you've got a good life here. It's not going to last forever."

-

"I know."

-

"So, what are you waiting for then?"

-

"What do you mean?"

-

"If you don't start living your life soon, it's gonna be gone before you ever get the chance. Trust me, I know a thing a two about this."

There was brief pause.

"Sarah?"

-

"What?"

-

"Save you later."

-

Sarah's head snapped in the direction of the parking lot. She had heard her Porshe start up. She raced down the stairs and out the door. Chuck was right on her heel and Casey was already ahead of them. They stopped at the curb and watched the Porshe turning the corner at the end of the road.

---

"Let me help you with that!" Devon took the box from Sarah.

"Thanks Devon." Sarah grabbed a smaller box from the back of the Crown Vic, and followed him towards the courtyard.

Casey came out of his apartment and stopped her. "Here." He handed her back her car keys. "We found it parked outside a motel near the Buy More."

Sarah tucked the box under one arm and accepted the keys. "Thanks."

"No sign of James. Looks like she got a pretty clean getaway. Any idea where she could have gone?"

"No." Sarah admitted. "But I have a feeling we'll run into her sooner or later."

Casey grunted. "I think you might be right there."

Sarah pulled the keys for the Crown Vic from her pocket and tossed them to him.

"You get everything?" Casey asked.

Sarah nodded. "Did you talk to Beckman?"

Casey nodded. "She agreed. 24 hour protection is the best choice at this point."

"Good." Sarah stared down at her keys.

"You sure your ready for that?"

Sarah nodded. "Terrified." She admitted. "But sure."

Casey grunted. "I did this one favor for you, now you have to do something for me." Sarah stared at him. "Here on in, you keep me out of it."

Sarah smiled. "Done."

---

Sarah walked into the apartment and down to Chuck's room. Ellie and Chuck were arguing.

"Chuck, when you live with someone else, you have to make sacrifices. Now, please, I beg you." Ellie put the palm of her hands together and made pleading eyes at her brother.

"What's this?" Sarah asked, putting the box down at the end of the bed.

"I'm trying to convince my brother to get rid of that damn poster." Ellie explained.

"I'm sorry, Ellie, but the Tron poster stays." Chuck told her.

"Sarah, talk to him. Please!" Ellie begged.

"How about we compromise?" Sarah suggested. "Everything in Chuck's room can stay as it is, for now, but when we find our own apartment I get to decide where everything goes."

Ellie gasped.

"When we find an apartment?" Chuck queried. "I thought this was just a temporary arrangement, until you could find a new apartment."

"It was," Sarah looked away from Chuck, "but I think it's time." She looked back at him. "We're ready."

Ellie made a noise, trying to hold in her excitement.

"Are you sure about this?" Chuck asked, eyeing Sarah carefully.

Sarah shrugged.

"Because I don't want to do this unless you're absolutely sure. I want you to say it. I want you to say you are absolutely, 100%, sure you want to move in with me." Chuck insisted.

Ellie and Devon's eyes flicked between Chuck and Sarah.

Sarah took a step forward. "Chuck, I am absolutely – 100% – sure, that I want to move in with you."

Chuck took a step forward too. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into here? We're talking late night Call of Duty marathons with Morgan..."

"I can handle Morgan."

"A sister who is going to come over uninvited and interfere at every possible opportunity…"

"I love Ellie, so that's not a problem."

"And a live-in boyfriend that is never – and I mean NEVER – going to let you forget that you were, absolutely, 100%, sure."

Sarah paused staring him down.

"Moment of truth, Ms Walker. There's no going back after this."

"You want me to say it again?"

"Yeah – yeah I do."

Sarah crossed her arms and glared at him. "Chuck Bartowski, will you move in with me?"

Chuck smiled, "what's in it for me?"

Sarah and Ellie both lunged at him.

"Ow – ow! Okay, I was kidding!"

Chuck put his hands on Sarah's hips and pulled her towards him. She reached forward and straightened his collar.

Ellie and Devon quietly left them to it, pulling the door closed on their way out.

"We're really going to do this?" Chuck asked.

"I had Casey clear it with Beckman, you are officially under 24 hour surveillance."

"Wow." Chuck breathed. "We're really gonna do this."

Sarah wrapped her arms around him. "Life's short, Chuck, and I'm tired of missing out."

Chuck smiled down at her. "No arguments here."

---

END


End file.
